Nephropidae NEPHROPIDAE True Lobsters and Lobsterettes Iagnostic Characters: Moderate to Dlarge-Sized Crustaceans

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Nephropidae NEPHROPIDAE True lobsters and lobsterettes iagnostic characters: Moderate to Dlarge-sized crustaceans. Body tubular, surface almost naked or covered with thick rostrum well 1st pincer fur. Carapace (or “head”) with a well-devel- developed oped rostrum, ornamented with spines or enlarged first 3 legs nodules, occasionally smooth. Eyes usually with 1 well developed and black, or small and lack- pincers ing pigmentation, or even absent. Antennae very long and thread-like; antennal scale, if present, with inner margin unarmed and curved. First 3 pairs of legs forming true 2 pincers, with the first pair greatly enlarged and long. Both abdomen and tail fan well developed and powerful. Abdomen smooth or variously sculptured, pleura end- 3 ing in acute ventral tooth. Tail fan entirely hardened, telson with fixed spines and 4 posterior margin broadly convex. Colour: with the typical coloration of deep-sea crustaceans - from white to pink or red, some species with special markings (usually red 5 and/or white) on body; setae or hairs, if present, are light brown. Habitat, biology, and fisheries: All species are deep-sea forms and found at depths from 150 to more than 1 893 m. Their adult sizes median are ranging from 5 cm to over 40 cm. They carina are bottom-dwellers with a preference for soft substrate. Some species are known to live in self-made burrows. The sexes are eas- pleura with ily distinguished by the position of the ventral tooth gonopores, which are situated at the bases of the third and fifth legs in the females and males, respectively. In addition, the first pleopods (“legs” of the abdomen) of males are transformed into a strong and rigid pen- tail fan hardened like copulatory organ while they are reduced and thread-like in females. The females bear large and colourful eggs (white, blue or red, and other colours) on the ventral side of the abdomen. They seem to have a long incubation period, but a short larval development. At present, none of the species of this family is of significant commercial importance in the Western Central Pacific. However, the large size of several species and the fact that some of them are commonly caught on the basis of exploratory trawling suggest that they may have some commercial potential with the development of deep-sea fisheries. This is especially the case with members of the genus Metanephrops, which are treated here in separate species accounts.

gonopore leg 3

leg 4 abdominal sternite leg 5 copulatory stylets reduced, thread-like sperm gonopore receptacle male female male female bases of last 3 legs in nephropids first pleopods of nephropids Nephropidae 983

1st pincers very unequeal Similar families occurring in the area Thaumastochelidae: body somewhat flattened dorsoventrally; 1 antennal scale with several large teeth along inner margin; first pair of pincers very unequal; abdominal pleura short, quadrangular and not ending in a point; telson unarmed. antennal scale Enoplometopidae: body distributed with tufts of long stiff hairs; 2 second and third legs forming false pincers; telson bearing movable spines. 3 Polychelidae: carapace box-like, rostrum absent or rudimentary; first 4 or all legs with pincers, first pair long but slender; telson pointed. 4 Glypheidae: body somewhat flattened dorsoventrally; eyes 5 inserted on a median elevation of cephalon; first 2 legs forming pleura false pincers. quadrangular Synaxidae: body somewhat flattened dorsoventrally and hairy;all legs simple and without pincers, the first pair heavier than the others; antennae whip-like and shorter than carapace; posterior half of tail fan soft and flexible.

1 Thaumastochelidae

1st leg long and 1 2nd and 3rd legs slender first 4 or all with false legs with pincers 2 pincers

3 2 4 3 5 4 tufts of long stiff hairs 5 movable spines telson telson pointed

Enoplometopidae no pincers Polychelidae 2 antenna 1 short

rostrum 3

posterior half of 2 3 simple dactylus tail fan soft

1 false pincers

Glypheidae Synaxidae 984 Lobsters

Palinuridae: carapace without rostrum or with rostrum reduced to a small spine, but with a pair of large frontal horns over the eyes; antennae very long and thick, whip-like or spear-like; legs without true pincers and first pair generally not enlarged (except in Justitia); posterior half of tail fan soft and flexible. Scyllaridae: body strongly flattened dorsoventrally; rostrum absent or rudimentary; eyes enclosed by distinct orbits; antennae plate-like; legs without true pincers and none of them enlarged; posterior half of tail fan soft and flexible. no pincers antenna 1 plate-like 2 frontal horns 1 3 2 no 3 4 pincers 4

5 5 body flat

posterior half posterior half of tail fan soft of tail fan soft

Palinuridae Scyllaridae

Key to the genera of Nephropidae occurring in the area 1a. Eyes large and black; antennal scale present; body provided with some spines but never uniformly spinulose (Fig. 1) ...... Metanephrops 1b. Eyes minute, cornea lacking pigmentation ...... → 2 2a. Antennal scale present; body more or less uniformly spinulose and not covered with soft pubescence (Fig. 2) ...... Acanthacaris (a single species, A. tenuimana, in the area) 2b. Antennal scale absent; body not uniformly spinulose but covered with thick pubescence (Fig. 3) ...... Nephropsis

antennal scale

Fig. 1 Metanephrops Fig. 2 Acanthacaris Fig. 3 Nephropsis Nephropidae 985

Key to the species of Metanephrops occurring in the area 1a. Carapace rather uniformly spinulose (Fig. 4a); dorsal surface of → no uropods covered with spinules ..... 2 spinules 1b. Carapace smooth between the between ridges and large spines (Fig. 4b); large → spines uropods unarmed dorsally ...... 4 surface and uniformly ridges spinulose 2a. Abdominal segments each with 2 transverse grooves (Fig. 5a); large pincer with finger distinctly longer than palm a) Metanephrops neptunus b) Metanephrops sibogae (Fig. 6a) ...... Metanephrops neptunus Fig. 4 carapace (dorsal view) 2b. Abdominal segments each with 1 transverse groove only (Fig. 5b, c); large pincer with finger shorter than palm (Fig. 6b) .....→ 3

3a. Abdomen with deep longitudinal furrows (Fig. 5b); large pincer covered with sharp tubercles ...... Metanephropsarafurensis 3b. Abdomen without distinct longitudinal furrows (Fig. 5c); large pincer finely granular to nearly smooth ...... Metanephropsaustraliensis

longitudinal furrows finger finger

2 1 transverse transverse palm grooves groove palm

a) Metanephrops b) Metanephrops c) Metanephrops neptunus arafurensis australiensis a) Metanephrops b) Metanephrops neptunus australiensis Fig. 5 first 3 abdominal segments (dorsal view) Fig. 6 large pincer

4a. Abdomen with distinct transverse and longitudinal grooves (Fig. 7); large pincers distinctly ridged (Fig. 8a), with outer border flat ...... → 5 4b. Abdomen smooth or with only narrow transverse grooves; large pincer smooth or weakly ridged (Fig. 8b), with outer border always angular ...... → 6

5a. Elevated parts of abdomen naked and smooth (Fig. 7a) ...... Metanephropsandamanicus 5b. Elevated parts of abdomen coarse and pubescent (Fig. 7b) ...... Metanephropsvelutinus

longitudinal elevated grooves pubescent parts naked and distinctly smooth ridged weakly ridged

a) Metanephrops a) Metanephrops andamanicus b) Metanephrops velutinus b) Metanephrops andamanicus sibogae Fig. 7 abdomen (dorsal view) Fig. 8 large pincer 986 Lobsters

6a. Abdomen smooth, without grooves (Fig. 9a) ...... Metanephropssibogae 6b. Abdomen with narrow transverse grooves (Fig. 9b, c) ...... → 7

surface smooth no transverse transverse groove on 1st groove on 1st segment segment

a) Metanephrops sibogae b) Metanephrops thomsoni c) Metanephrops sinensis Fig. 9 abdomen (dorsal view)

7a. Two postorbital spines present (Fig. 10a); large pincers with inner margin naked but often bearing some large spines (Fig. 11a); first abdominal segment generally without distinct transverse grooves (Fig. 9b) ...... Metanephropsthomsoni 7b. Three postorbital spines present (Fig. 10b); large pincers without large spines along inner margin, lateral margin of movable fingers bearing a brush of setae (Fig. 11b); first abdominal segment usually with short, lateral, transverse grooves (Fig. 9c) ...... Metanephrops sinensis 2 postorbital 3 postorbital spines spines

brush of setae

large spines a) Metanephrops thomsoni b) Metanephrops sinensis a) Metanephrops thomsoni b) Metanephrops sinensis Fig. 10 carapace (lateral view) Fig. 11 large pincer

Key to the species of Nephropsis occurring in the area 1a. Rostrum without lateral teeth (Fig. 12a) ...... Nephropsisensirostris 1b. Rostrum with lateral teeth (Fig. 12b-d) ...... → 2

2a. Rostrum with 2 pairs of lateral teeth (Fig. 12b) ...... → 3 2b. Rostrum with 1 pair of lateral teeth (Fig. 12c, d) ...... → 4 2 pairs of 1 pair of subdorsal lateral teeth lateral teeth subdorsal ridges no lateral ridges lacking teeth on spinous spines rostrum

a) Nephropsis ensirostris b) Nephropsis sulcata c) Nephropsis serrata d) Nephropsis stewarti Fig. 12 carapace (dorsal view) Nephropidae 987

3a. Abdomen with a median longitudinal carina (Fig. 13) ...... Nephropsissulcata 3b. Abdomen without a median longitudinal carina ...... Nephropsissuhmi

4a. Basal part of telson with an erect dorsal spine (Fig. 14a) ...... Nephropsisacanthura 4b. Basal part of telson without an erect dorsal spine (Fig. 14b) ...... → 5

5a. Abdomen with a median longitudinal carina ...... Nephropsis holthuisi 5b. Abdomen without a median longitudinal carina ...... → 6

6a. Subdorsal ridges of carapace spinose (Fig. 12c) ...... Nephropsis serrata 6b. Subdorsal ridges of carapace lacking spines (Fig. 12d) ...... Nephropsisstewarti

no spine

spine carinae

b) Nephropsis holthuisi, abdomen (dorsal view) a) Nephropsis acanthura N. serrata, N. stewarti Fig. 13 Nephropsis sulcata Fig. 14 tail fan (lateral view)

List of species occurring in the area The symbol ( is given when species accounts are included. ( Acanthacaris tenuimana Bate, 1888 ( Metanephrops andamanicus (Wood-Mason, 1891) Metanephrops arafurensis (De Man, 1905) ( Metanephrops australiensis (Bruce, 1966) ( Metanephrops neptunus (Bruce, 1965) ( Metanephrops sibogae (De Man, 1916) ( Metanephrops sinensis (Bruce, 1966) ( Metanephrops thomsoni (Bate, 1888) ( Metanephrops velutinus Chan and Yu, 1991 Nephropsis acanthura Macpherson, 1990 Nephropsis ensirostris Alcock, 1901 Nephropsis holthuisi Macpherson, 1993 Nephropsis serrata Macpherson, 1993 ( Nephropsis stewarti Wood-Mason, 1873 Nephropsis suhmi Bate, 1888 Nephropsis sulcata Macpherson, 1990

References Chan, T.Y. and H.P.Yu. 1993. The Illustrated lobsters of Taiwan. Taipei, SMC Publishing Inc., 248 p. Holthuis, L.B. 1991. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 13. Marine lobsters of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of species of interest to fisheries known to date. FAO Fish. Synop., 125(13):1-292. 988 Lobsters

Acanthacaris tenuimana Bate, 1888 Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: Phoberus tenuimanus Bate, 1888; P. caecus sublevis Wood-Mason and Alcock, 1891; Acanthacaris opipara Burukovsky and Musy, 1976; Phoberus brevirostris Thung and Wang, 1985 /None. FAO names: En - Prickly deep-sea lobster; Fr - Langoustine spinuleuse; Sp - Cigala raspa. Diagnostic characters: A large lobster. Body tubular, entirely covered with small spines and sharp tubercles, but not covered with soft pubescence. Carapace with a well-developed rostrum. Eyes minute, cornea lacking pigmentation. Antennae long and thread-like, antennal scale well developed. First 3 pairs of legs ending in pincers; first pair equal-sized, very slender and longer than body, with pincers bearing long teeth along cutting edges; second pair of legs much longer but less spiny than third pair. Tail fan entirely hardened; posterior margin of telson truncate. Colour: uniform delicate pink. Size: Maximum carapace length 21 cm (total length to 40 cm), ovigerous females between 11 and 19 cm carapace length. Habitat, biology, and fisheries: Found in deep water at depths from 600 to 1 670 m on muddy bottoms where it lives in burrows. This species is occasionally taken during exploratory trawling operations in deep water, but only in very small quantities. Due to its large size it may have some fishery potential once suitable fishing grounds are found. Distribution: Indo-West Pacific from the eastern coast of Africa to Japan, the East and South China Sea, Indonesia, and New Caledonia. Nephropidae 989

Metanephrops sibogae (De Man, 1916) Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: Nephrops sibogae De Man, 1916 / None. FAO names: En - Siboga lobster. Diagnostic characters: A small to medium- sized lobster. Body cylindrical and naked. Carapace spiny, but not uniformly so; rostrum well developed, armed with lateral and ventral teeth only; 4 pairs of postrostral teeth and 3 postorbital spines present. Eyes large and pigmented. Antennae long and thread-like, antennal scale present. First 3 pairs of legs ending in pincers; first pair enlarged and long; pincers feebly ridged and finely granular, their inner margin without pubescence but occasionally bearing a few large spines. Abdomen naked and smooth, without distinct sculptures.Tailfan entirely hardened; posterior margin of telson broadly convex. Colour: body uniformly orange-pink. Size: Maximum body length 18 cm, commonly to about 13 cm. Habitat, biology, and fisheries: At depths from 246 to 320 m on soft sandy sediment; probably lives in burrows. Of minor importance to fisheries in northern Australia, where it is trawled commercially during the northern prawn fishery closed seasons. Also taken in a fair amount during experimental trawling operations in southern In- donesia. Distribution: Only known from southern Indonesia and northern Australia. (after De Man, 1916) 990 Lobsters

Metanephrops thomsoni (Bate, 1888) Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: Nephrops thomsoni Bate, 1888 / None. FAO names: En - Red-banded lobster. Diagnostic characters: A small to medium- sized lobster. Body cylindrical and naked. Carapace spiny, but not uniformly so;rostrum well developed, armed with lateral and ventral teeth only;3 pairs of postrostral teeth and only 2 postorbital spines present. Eyes large and pigmented. Antennae long and thread-like, antennal scale present. First 3 pairs of legs ending in pincers; first pair enlarged and long; pincers feebly ridged and finely granular, inner margin without pubescence but often bearing some large spines. Abdomen without median longitudinal carina and weakly sculptured; transverse grooves very shallow (nearly absent on first segment) and broadly interrupted medially, longitudinal grooves absent.Tail fan entirely hardened; posterior margin of telson broadly convex. Colour: body almost uniformly orange-pink; post-orbital margin, tips of fingers of large pincers, margins of abdominal pleura, and posterior margin of tail fanwhitish.Eyesdarkbrown.Eggs blue, becoming dirty white when eye spots appear. Size: Maximum body length 15 cm, commonly between 9 and 12 cm. Habitat, biology, and fisheries: On sandy mud bottoms at depths from 50 to 509 m. Caught in the Philippines by lobster cages called “Panak”, but not in large quantities and only occasionally sold in local fish mar- kets. Often taken on the basis of exploratory deep-water trawling around the northwest coasts of the Philippines and may therefore have more fishery potential in the area. Distribution: Western Pacific from Japan, the (after Chan and Yu, 1988) Ryukyu Islands, the East and South China Sea, Taiwan Province of China, and the Philippines. Remarks: Thecommonname “Red-banded lobster” refers to the presence of red bands on the first pair of legs. How- ever, specimens known from the area (i.e. the Philippines) differ from those found else- where in its range by the lack of these red bands. Nephropidae 991

Nephropsis stewarti Wood-Mason, 1873 Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: None / None. FAO names: En - Indian Ocean lobsterette; Fr - Langoustine indienne; Sp - Cigala del Oceano Indico. Diagnostic characters: A small to medium- sized lobster. Body cylindrical, covered with thick fur. Carapace with a well-developed rostrum armed with 1 pair of lateral spines; anterior carapace bearing only supraorbital and antennal spines; subdorsal ridges without spines. Eyes minute, cornea lacking pigmentation. Anten- nae long and thread-like; antennal scale absent. First 3 pairs of legs ending in pincers; first pair rather stout and very hairy. Abdomen without median longitudinal carina, all pleura sharply pointed ventrally but lacking spines on front edges. Tail fan entirely hardened; outer blade showing a transverse fissure; telson with a pair of fixed posterolateral spines but unarmed dorsally. Colour: body whitish and covered with thick grey fur. Anterior carapace including rostrum, ventral surface, mouth parts and tail fan pink-red. Antennal and antennular flagella orange. Legs orange- pink, with distal segments reddish; large pincers sometimes slightly orange. Eggs white. Size: Maximum known body length about 20 cm, commonly between 10 and 15 cm. Habitat, biology, and fisheries: Deep sea at depths from 170 to 1 060 m, mostly between 500 and 750 m on soft muddy substrate. A common bycatch of deep-water trawling operations throughout its range. Al- though it is probably the largest and most common species of the genus, its quantities are at present too small for significant inter- (after Alcock and Anderson, 1896) est to fisheries. Distribution: Widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific, from eastern Africa to Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and northwestern Australia. 992 Lobsters

Metanephrops andamanicus (Wood-Mason, 1891) NEA En - Andaman lobster; Fr - Langoustine andamane; Sp - Cigala de Andamán. Maximum total body length 20 cm, commonly between 15 and 18 cm. On hard mud in depths from 250 to 750 m, but mostly from 300 to 450 m; probably lives in burrows. In the Western Central Pacific, so far only taken in very small numbers during experimental deep-water trawling operations, but its high abundance just north of the Philippines in the South China Sea may indicate that it has some fishery potential in the area. Indo-West Pacific from eastern Africa to the Andaman Sea, the South China Sea, Indonesia, and perhaps also Papua New Guinea.

(after Alcock, 1894)

Metanephrops australiensis (Bruce, 1966) En - Northwest lobster. Maximum total body length 18 cm. At depths from 418 to 500 m, on firm sediments such as Globig- erina ooze; probably lives in burrows. In the area, so far only taken in few numbers during experimental deep-water trawling operations. However, as this lobster is the main component of the commercial Metanephrops fishery in northwestern Austra- lia, more knowledge of its fishing grounds may reveal that it has also some fishery potential else- where in the Western Central Pacific. Known from the Philippines, Indonesia, and northwestern Aus- tralia.

(after Bruce, 1966) Nephropidae 993

Metanephrops neptunus (Bruce, 1965) En - Neptune lobster. Maximum total body length 25 cm; probably the largest species of the genus. On soft bottoms at depths to 940 m, mostly more than 500 m; probably lives in burrows. Occasionally caught in rather small quantities during deep-water trawling operations. With the development of deep-sea fishing gear this lobster is potentially very attractive for fisheries, due to its large size.Western Pacific from the South China Sea to the Philippines, Indonesia, and northwestern Australia.

(after Bruce, 1965) Metanephrops sinensis (Bruce, 1966) En - China lobster. Maximum total body length 15 cm. Found on muddy bottoms in deep water at depths from 203 to 407 m, sometimes with shells. Not fished commercially at present, but often caught in large numbers during experimental deep-water trawling operations around the Philippines and may therefore have some fishery potential in the area. So far only known from the South China Sea and the northwestern coast of the Philippines.

(after Bruce, 1966) 994 Lobsters

Metanephrops velutinus Chan and Yu, 1991 En - Velvet lobster. Maximum carapace length 8.6 cm. In deep water at depths of 238 to 702 m, mostly between 350 and 450 m on hard muddy substrate. A commercial species in northwestern Australia, but not yet fished in the area. Often caught on the basis of exploratory deep-water trawling operations around the Philippines and Indonesia and may therefore also have some fishery potential in area. So far only found in the Philippines, Indonesia, and West- ern Australia.

(after Chan and Yu, 1991)

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